Self-aligning pivot support for church kneeler

ABSTRACT

A self-aligning pivot support for church kneelers and like devices in which spaced supporting arms are pivotally mounted for swinging movement on the end and intermediate pew supports. The pivot member is mounted on a supporting bracket structure so as to have universal movements which permit of automatic compensation for slight variations and departures with respect to mounting surfaces and spacing dimensions, a spring operating to urge the pivot member towards a normal position, and resiliently oppose tilting as well as limited axial movement of the pivot member.

United States Patent Inventor Horace E. Harris 2916 N. Buena Vista St.,Burbank, Calif. 91504 Appl. No. 825,483 Filed May 19, 1969 Patented June29, 1971 SELF-ALIGNING PIVOT SUPPORT FOR CHURCH KNEELER 15 Claims, 4Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 297/426,

, 16/182 Int. Cl A47c 9/14, EOSf 1/14 Field of Search 298/402, 475;74/36; 64/182; 49/388; 312/316, 317; 297/425, 426, 378

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,711,085 4/1929 D'Arcy248/402 X 1,856,297 5/1932 St. Marie et a1 297/426 3,022,036 2/1962Bassett 248/402 3,188,140 6/1965 Hahnlein 297/426 PrimaryExaminer-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Wham & McManigal ABSTRACT: Aself-aligning pivot support for church kneelers and like devices inwhich spaced supporting arms are pivotally mounted for swinging movementon the end and intermediate pew supports. The pivot member is mounted ona supporting bracket structure so as to have universal movements whichpermit of automatic compensation for slight variations and departureswith respect to mounting surfaces and spacing dimensions, a springoperating to urge the pivot member towards a normal position, andresiliently oppose tilting as well as limited axial movement of thepivot member.

SELF-ALIGNING PIVOT SUPPORT FOR CHURCH KNEELER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates generally to a pivotal support.

The invention, although susceptible of general application, isparticularly efficacious for the mounting of church kneelers of the typedisclosed in US. Letters Pat. No. 3,271,074 in which an elongatecushioned bench is provided with spaced arms along its length, thesearms being swingably supported by pivots on brackets attachable to theside surfaces of the end and intermediate vertical supports of thechurch pew or bench. These pivots have in the past been rigidly securedto the mounting or attaching plates, and in many installations problemshave arisen due to variations in the spacing distances between the sidesurfaces of the pew supports or their lack of parallelism when initiallyinstalled, warping or other causes. With the fixed type of pivot, asheretofore used, the resulting misalignment even though slight wassufficient in many cases to cause a binding of the pivot so that it wasnot possible to obtain smooth pivotal movements of the kneeler to itspositions of use and nonuse. Under said circumstances, unnecessary andobjectionable wear of the pivot members resulted..

In the present invention, this problem is solved by utilizing a uniquepivot mounting in which the pivot member is susceptible ofuniversal-tilting and endwise movements from a normal position towardswhich it is resiliently urged, but which per mits automaticself-alignment to compensate for limited variations in the mountingconditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to apivot support bracket of the type utilized for various purposesincluding use in kneeling benches or kneelers such as connected tochurch benches or pews, and is more particularly concerned with a pivotbracket in which the pivot is self-aligning.

Having in mind the inherent disadvantages of the present availablepivotal mountings, it is one object of the present invention to providean improved pivot bracket for mounting on a flat surface, wherein thepivot is automatically self-aligning to correct for slight differencesand variations in installation conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved pivotbracket of the foregoing type, which is especially effective for themounting on church kneeling benches or church pews.

Another object is to provide as a new article of manufacture an improvedself-aligning pivot for use with kneeling benches,

and the like.

Still another object is to provide a pivot support for church kneelersand for other uses generally which is simple of construction, economicalof manufacture, and which provides a unique pivotal mounting whichpermits limited universal-tilting and endwise movements of the pivotmember.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out inthe following part of the specification, wherein detailed description isfor the purpose of fully disclosing a preferred embodiment of theinvention without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the accompanying drawingswhich are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a church bench or pew having a kneelerpivotally supported on a self-aligning pivot structure embodying thefeatures of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in elevation showing the, bracketstructure and an associated swingable arm of the kneeler, portions beingcutaway to show the cooperative relationship of certain parts;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on line 3-3 ofFig. 2; and v FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view including atransverse section taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically tothe drawings, for illustrative purposes, the present invention is shownas being utilized with a conventional church pew 10 which has a usualseat-forming portion and back portion 11, and which is supported upon aplurality of vertical supports which may include an end support asindicated at 12 and one or more intermediate supports as indicated at13.

The kneeler may vary as to details of construction, but for purposes ofillustration has been shown herein as including an elongate cushionedbench 14 of rigid construction and sup.- ported by means of spacedconnected laterally extending arm supports 15-15 which are positioned inthis case at the bench ends andare pivotally supported for pivotal orswinging movement in each case by means of a pivot-supporting bracket asgenerally indicated by the numeral 16. As thus arranged, the kneeler isswingably movable from a position of use as shown in Fig. 1, in whichposition it is supported upon underlying supporting feet 17, to a raisedposition of nonuse in which the arms 15 engage against stop members 18carried by the supporting bracket. In the position of nonuse, the benchis folded up and out-of-the-way to permit free passage of personsbetween adjacent pews.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be observed that the pivot-supportingbrackets for the kneeler arms l515 are mounted upon the side surfaces ofthe pew supports. Also, it will be appreciated that in order for thekneeler to swing freely and without binding, the pivotal movement of thearms must be about an axis which is properly aligned with respect to themounting surfaces of the pew supports, and that if the surfaces uponwhich the pivot-supporting brackets are mounted are out of parallelism,warped or otherwise not properly oriented, the use of conventional-typepivot-supporting brackets having rigidly mounted pivots thereon couldcause binding and friction which would prevent smooth swinging movementof the kneeler. A very material installation problem may thus arisewhich can become very time consuming and expensive in order to obtain aproper installation.

In the pivot-supporting bracket of the present invention, smoothoperation is-automatically obtained by providing a resiliently supportedpivot member having universal movement, and which will be automaticallyaligned to a proper position.

As shown in Fig. 2, the pivot-supporting bracket 16 is fabricatedpreferably from a suitable metallic material to provide a' generallyL.-shaped bracket body 19 which is adapted to be mounted on the sidesurface of a pew support with a surface thereof in face engagement withthe side surface, the bracket being secured in position by means of aplurality of holding screws 20. In its normal installed position, thestop member 18 will be at the outermost end of a vertically positionedleg 21, while a horizontally extending leg 22 of the bracket body has atits outermost end a pivot-supporting structure as generally indicated at23, and which constitutes a primary feature of the present invention.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outermost end of the leg 22 is castor otherwise fabricated to form a shell-like housing structure ofgenerally cylindrical configuration, and which includes an outwardlyopening cavity 24 having a surrounding wall structure 25. Thesurrounding wall 25 extends from a bottom wall 26, and at its outermargin defines a cavity entrance opening 27. As best seen in Fig. 4, thecavity 24 is transversely rectangular and bounded by wall surfaces 28,29, 30 and 31 which are in right-angled relation.

A pivot support member 32 having a cylindrical body portion 33 at oneend is formed with a rectangular head portion 34 at its opposite endwhich is positioned within the cavity 24 and retained therein by meansof a washer member 35 which is held in engagement with an abutmentcircumferentially extending radial shoulder 36 surrounding the opening27,- by means of a retaining ring 37 held in place by headed overintegrally formed studs 38 extending from the shell structure.

The edge periphery of the head portion 34 is rounded on each side, andas contained within the cavity 24 cooperates to retain the pivot-supportmember 32 against rotation but permits universal-tilting movement of thepivot support member as well as limited endwise movement thereof withinthe cavity. The pivot-support member has a central threaded bore 39extending from its outer end into communication with a counterbore 40which opens in the inner end and forms a seat for one end of a coiledcompression spring 41, this spring having its other end engaged over aprojection 42 extending from the bottom wall 26 to hold this end of thespring in a fixed location. The spring 41 normally urges thepivot-support member towards an outer limit where the head portion 34will engage the washer 35. With the universal mounting of thepivot-support member, this member is free to form a self-aligningsupport for an associated arm 15, even though the plane of swing of thisarm is not parallel to the supporting side face of the pew support towhich the pivot bracket is attached.

It will be noted that the retaining ring 37 has a central opening 43which is of greater diameter than the pivot support member 32, thuspermitting tilting movement. thereof. During such tilting movement, thewasher 35 will be laterally shiftable between the shoulder 36 and theretainer ring 37. That is to say, that the washer is not rigidlyretained in position, but is free to shift during tilting movements ofthe pivot-support member.

Within the broad concept of the invention, it is contemplated that thepivot-support member 32 may serve directly as a pivot, or may beattached to an adapter member such as indicated at 44, this adapterbeing arranged as a component of the associated swingable arm 15 andforming a pivot connection therewith when fixedly secured to thepivot-support member 32. This may be done by providing the adapter witha central bore 45 for the reception of the shank of a securing screw 46for threaded engagement within the threaded bore 39 of the pivot supportmember 32. The outermost end of the securing screw 46 has a head end 47by means of which a suitable tool may be applied for tightening thescrew. If desired, the engaged ends of the adapter 44 and thepivot-support member 32 may be provided with engageable radial teeth 48to retain these members against relative rotation.

From the foregoing description and drawings, it will be clearly evidentthat the delineated objects and features of the invention will beaccomplished.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do notwish to be restrictedto the specific form shown or uses mentioned.

I claim: v

1. A pivotal support comprising:

a. bracket having a mounting surface adapted to engage an associatedstructure on which the bracket is to be mounted;

b. an elongate pivot member;

c. means mounting said pivot on said bracket for tilting movements froma position in which the pivot axis is substantially normal to saidmounting surface; and

d. resilient means opposing said tilting movements and normally tendingto retain the pivot axis in said normal position.

2. A pivotal support according to claim 1, wherein said mounting meanshas parts operative to retain said pivot member against rotation.

3. A pivotal support according to claim 1, wherein the mounting meanssupports the pivot'member for limited endwise movements, and saidvresilient means urges the pivot member towards one limit of its endwisemovement.

4. A pivotal support according to claim 3, wherein the resilient meansurges the pivot member endwise outwardly away from said mountingsurface.

5. A pivotal support according to claim 1, wherein the resilient meanscomprises a compression coiled spring.

6. A pivotal support according to claim 1, wherein the bracket includeswall means surrounding a cavity for receiving one end of the pivotmember endwise therein, the wall means and said one end of the pivotmember having conformed surfaces retaining the pivot member .againstrotation, but enabling endwise movement thereof.

7. A pivotal support according to claim 6, wherein the conformedsurfaces on said one end of the pivot member extend peripherally of ahead portion formed at said one end.

8. A pivotal support according to claim 7 wherein the resilient meanscomprises a compression spring extending between said head portion and abottom wall of said cavity.

9. A pivotal support according to claim 8, wherein the spring'at itsouter end is seated in a recess in said head portion.

10. A pivoted support according to claim 8, wherein the spring at itsinner end receives a projection extending from the bottom wall of saidcavity.

11. A pivotal support for attaching a swingably mounte arm structure ofa church kneeler to a pewsurface or the like, comprising:

a bracket adapted for mounting on a flat surface wall means on saidbracket surrounding a cavity having an axis extending at a right angleto the flat surface in the mounted position of the bracket;

means including an elongate pivot member positioned with one end in saidcavity, and its opposite end extending outwardly of said cavity forpivotally receiving an end of a kneeler arm thereon, said pivot memberhaving limited generally endwise and tilting movement in said cavity;and

means resiliently urging said pivot member axially of said cavity in anoutward direction, and towards a position with its longitudinal axisaligned with the cavity axis.

12. A pivot support according to claim 1 1, wherein said one end of thepivot member comprises a multisided head portion, and the wall of saidcavity is peripherally conformed to said head portion, whereby the pivotmember is retained against rotation.

13. A pivotal support according to claim 12, including a compressionspring extending between said head portion and a wall of said cavityacting to urge said pivot member outwardly of said'cavity.

14. A pivotal support according to claim 13 including retaining means atthe outer end of said cavity engageable by the head portion of saidpivot member under the action of said spring.

15. As an article of manufacture, a pivot bracket comprising:

a bracket structure adapted for mounting on a flat surface;

a self-aligning pivot member supported on said bracket foruniversal-tilting movements, and limited endwise movements from apredetermined normal position with its pivotal axis extendingperpendicular to said flat surface; and

means for restoring said pivotal member from a displaced position to itsnormal position including means resiliently urging said pivot membertowards said normal position.

1. A pivotal support comprising: a. bracket having a mounting surfaceadapted to engage an associated structure on whiCh the bracket is to bemounted; b. an elongate pivot member; c. means mounting said pivot onsaid bracket for tilting movements from a position in which the pivotaxis is substantially normal to said mounting surface; and d. resilientmeans opposing said tilting movements and normally tending to retain thepivot axis in said normal position.
 2. A pivotal support according toclaim 1, wherein said mounting means has parts operative to retain saidpivot member against rotation.
 3. A pivotal support according to claim1, wherein the mounting means supports the pivot member for limitedendwise movements, and said resilient means urges the pivot membertowards one limit of its endwise movement.
 4. A pivotal supportaccording to claim 3, wherein the resilient means urges the pivot memberendwise outwardly away from said mounting surface.
 5. A pivotal supportaccording to claim 1, wherein the resilient means comprises acompression coiled spring.
 6. A pivotal support according to claim 1,wherein the bracket includes wall means surrounding a cavity forreceiving one end of the pivot member endwise therein, the wall meansand said one end of the pivot member having conformed surfaces retainingthe pivot member against rotation, but enabling endwise movementthereof.
 7. A pivotal support according to claim 6, wherein theconformed surfaces on said one end of the pivot member extendperipherally of a head portion formed at said one end.
 8. A pivotalsupport according to claim 7, wherein the resilient means comprises acompression spring extending between said head portion and a bottom wallof said cavity.
 9. A pivotal support according to claim 8, wherein thespring at its outer end is seated in a recess in said head portion. 10.A pivoted support according to claim 8, wherein the spring at its innerend receives a projection extending from the bottom wall of said cavity.11. A pivotal support for attaching a swingably mounted arm structure ofa church kneeler to a pew surface or the like, comprising: a bracketadapted for mounting on a flat surface wall means on said bracketsurrounding a cavity having an axis extending at a right angle to theflat surface in the mounted position of the bracket; means including anelongate pivot member positioned with one end in said cavity, and itsopposite end extending outwardly of said cavity for pivotally receivingan end of a kneeler arm thereon, said pivot member having limitedgenerally endwise and tilting movement in said cavity; and meansresiliently urging said pivot member axially of said cavity in anoutward direction, and towards a position with its longitudinal axisaligned with the cavity axis.
 12. A pivot support according to claim 11,wherein said one end of the pivot member comprises a multisided headportion, and the wall of said cavity is peripherally conformed to saidhead portion, whereby the pivot member is retained against rotation. 13.A pivotal support according to claim 12, including a compression springextending between said head portion and a wall of said cavity acting tourge said pivot member outwardly of said cavity.
 14. A pivotal supportaccording to claim 13 including retaining means at the outer end of saidcavity engageable by the head portion of said pivot member under theaction of said spring.
 15. As an article of manufacture, a pivot bracketcomprising: a bracket structure adapted for mounting on a flat surface;a self-aligning pivot member supported on said bracket foruniversal-tilting movements, and limited endwise movements from apredetermined normal position with its pivotal axis extendingperpendicular to said flat surface; and means for restoring said pivotalmember from a displaced position to its normal position including meansresiliently urging said pivot member towards said normal position.